Two Koreas Dismantle Propaganda Loudspeakers at Tense Border

The rival Koreas dismantled huge loudspeakers used to blare Cold War-style propaganda across their tense border on Tuesday, as South Korea’s president asked the United Nations to observe the North’s planned closing of its nuclear test site.

The dismantling of dozens of loudspeakers was in line with an agreement on reconciliation by the leaders of the Koreas at their historic summit last Friday. It is still unclear if such measures can bring permanent peace because no major breakthrough in the North Korean nuclear standoff was produced at the summit.

South Korean soldiers disassembled loudspeakers in multiple front-line areas in the presence of journalists before pulling them away from the border, the Defense Ministry said.

A South Korea military officer said later Tuesday that North Korea had also begun taking down its propaganda loudspeakers earlier in the day. He requested anonymity, citing department rules.